Fiction
The Connellys of County Down by Tracey Lange – August 2023
30-year-old Tara has completed her 18 month jail sentence for drugs and without many opportunities she returns home to live with her siblings. Her brother is a single Dad and still experiences the symptoms of a brain injury. Her sister hides behind a façade of calm and order but struggles with secrets. Another complication is the policeman who put her away constantly turns up. Tara tries to start a new career and help her family, while finding love in a surprising place. But when the Connelly family secrets come out it jepodises her future and she must have a hard conversation with her family. This book sounds like a story of second chances both for Tara and for her family.
The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer – May 2023
Lucy had a hard childhood and turned to books for comfort, particularly the Clock Island series by Jack Masterson. She’s now a teacher’s aide and she shares her love of reading with children such as 7-year-old orphan Christopher whom she wants to adopt. Then Jack Masterson announces he’s written a new book and is holding a contest in his home, on the real Clock Island. Lucy is one of the lucky contestants to try to win the one and only copy. There are many challenges, handsome and grumpy Hugo Reese, the book series illustrator, to like or dislike, and a surprise from their host. It sounds like a heart-warming tale and a chance for the heroine to find happiness with adventure thrown in as well.
Someone Else’s Shoes by Jojo Moyes – Feb. 2023
Two women from different walks of life mix up a gym bag which changes their lives. Sam has a struggling family but when she tries on rich Nisha’s six-inch high Christian Louboutin red crocodile shoes she feels greatly confident and decides to change something in her life. Meanwhile, Nisha must contend with the fact that her husband is divorcing her and tries to hold onto her husband’s riches. This sounds fun and inspirational.
Tom Lake by Ann Patchett – August 2023
Lara shares a personal story with her grown daughters at the family orchard one Spring. It’s a story they’ve wanted to hear for a while – how she had a romance with a film star and shared a stage with him. A tale of a great love and how it fell apart. This sounds sweeping, relaxing and dramatic.
Historical Fiction
The House of Eve by Sadeqa Johnson – Feb. 2023
It’s 1950’s America with a story of two different black women, both young and starting out in the world. In Philadelphia 15-year-old Ruby is ambitious to attend university but a forbidden love affair may derail her plans and land her in poverty. Eleanor has arrived in Washington D.C. with secrets and ambition. At university she meets handsome William Pride from a wealthy black family and they fall in love. But his family has high standards and Eleanor hopes having a baby will help her win them over. An interesting historical piece from the perspective of black women.
Beyond That, the Sea by Laura Spence-Ash – March 2023
Working class Beatrix is 11 years old when her parents send her to America to escape the German bombs over London during World War II. She lives with the Gregory’s in Boston and she is scared, angry and confused at first. But Mr. and Mrs. Gregory and their sons make her feel welcome and she grows close to them and adapts to their rich lifestyle. The family is lively and she gets to know them until it feels more natural to be with them than her own parents. She enjoys her summers and new friends. But then the war comes to an end and she must go home to England and to her parents. She is desperate to stay with her new family but dutifully goes home and tries to move on, though she always keeps a part of them with her. This seems like a lovely story of change, social history and courage.
North Woods by Daniel Mason – Sept. 2023
In a house in the woods of New England we follow its history of inhabitants throughout the centuries. They include some young lovers running from a Puritan colony, an English solider, a pair of spinster twins, a crime reporter, a lovesick painter, a conman, a stalking panther and a lusty beetle. The novel in divided into the 12 months of the year and through the seasons. This appealed to me because of the various characters and the historical style.
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